Ryan Braun was suspended 65 games by MLB for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal. / Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

by Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Brewers embattled left fielder Ryan Braun plans to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Braun, according to people who are familiar with his plans, is ready to soon admit that he used performance-enhancing drugs in parts of the 2011 season, the reasons why he did it and publicly apologize for the lies and deception.

People familiar with the plans, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because Braun has yet to make the announcement, said he has begun sending apologies to baseball officials and is expected to express remorse in the statement. It's unclear what specifics will be in the statement.

And, for the first time, he will admit guilt.

People close to Braun said he is eager to be the anti-Alex Rodriguez and is desperately trying to distance himself from the New York Yankees third baseman.

He wants days like Friday, when he was once again entwined with A-Rod, to never happen again.

Braun found himself in the headlines all day after a 60 Minutes report that someone in Rodriguez's "inner circle" implicated teammate Francisco Cervelli and Braun in the Biogenesis doping scandal by leaking documents with their names to the media. Rodriguez adamantly denied the report before Friday night's game at the Boston Red Sox.

"I've been a member of the union for 20 years,'' Rodriguez said, "and it's important for the other guys to know, for my reputation in this union, that it never happened. And it didn't happen.''

Yet, even as Rodriguez made his denials, Braun was left facing more allegations, this time, by a longtime friend.

Ralph Sasson, Braun's friend from the University of Miami (Fla.), filed a lawsuit last month against Braun for defamation. According to ESPN, the lawsuit alleges that Braun used illegal performance-enhancing drugs through his collegiate career at Miami, committed academic fraud and took money from Hurricanes boosters.

Sasson, a 29-year-old law student, also said that he helped Braun win his successful appeal of his positive test for testosterone in 2011. ESPN reported that Sasson said he was assigned to conduct background research on drug-testing sample collector Dino Laurenzi Jr. and paid $5,000 by Nez Balelo, Braun's agent.

Sasson threatened a lawsuit when he didn't receive his money, he claims, and only recovered his $5,000 when he agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The agreement was violated, Sasson said, when Braun made defamatory statements about him to undisclosed parties.

"This lawsuit is an unfortunate attempt to capitalize on Ryan's recent press attention for taking responsibility for his actions,'' said Howard Weitzman, Braun's attorney, in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. "The factual allegations and the legal claims have absolutely no merit. We believe the lawsuit will be dismissed.''

So the Braun saga continues. â?¦..

The public admission, and apology, will definitely be the right step toward public forgiveness.